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King’s Lynn, who face a winding-up order in court this Wednesday from HMRC over a debt of £65,000, have just seen the resignation of their recently appointed Financial Director David Handley (1). This is clearly a cause of deep concern to Linnets fans, but it might the bigger picture behind this might just pick up […]

The following list is of the winding-up petitions presented by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and its predecessors, the Internal Revenue (IR) who were responsible for the collection of direct taxation such as income tax (PAYE) and National Insurance contributions, and HM Customs and Excise (C&E) who were responsible for the collection of indirect taxation […]

I’m sometimes asked for a magic number – the number of top clubs which have gone into Administration. It’s difficult give a simple answer because: Administration is a misleading basis for counting. Clubs can be wound up without ever going into Administration. A better measure is ‘insolvency event’, a term which can however be defined […]

I managed to follow the great play-off between AFC Wimbledon (to whom, many congratulations) and Luton Town (to whom, commiserations) at least live online. Football at its most exciting. I wonder if Andy Burnham chose quite the right words though when he tweeted “Wimbledon back in Football League. Brilliant. A great victory for all football […]

I don’t suppose, if I’m honest, that this a blog you would rush to in order to read ‘good news’ stories, packed with fluffy tales of people being, erm, nice. From Crawley Town, a club which has been through a fairly crazy time financially in the last few years, comes a story which warms the […]

There is increasing evidence that HMRC are adopting a much more aggressive, and thereby less tolerant, policy towards football clubs, which is hardly surprising in the circumstances. Back in July they served a winding-up petition on King’s Lynn, to add to the serious problems the club was already facing, including enforced demotion (see postings passim […]

It doesn’t take an academic to spot that ‘one million pounds over a period of time’ is a completely meaningless amount. The ravages of inflation mean that a pound today is worth far less than a pound was worth, say, twenty years ago. One thousand pounds a year as the starting salary of a graduate […]

I was going to ask for a ban as a director for John Batchelor, but it seems you have just delivered this! In no particular order then, this is what I’d really like for Christmas as well: For King’s Lynn, a brand spanking new football club run by the Supporters Trust For Accrington Stanley fans, […]

One of the great strengths of the internet is its underlying democracy (except, of course for readers in China and North Korea). Anyone can start their own blog or Facebook group. But therein lies one of its weaknesses – there is no quality control and no underpinning rationale – any nutter can post their loony […]

There are some updates on a number of clubs: Bournemouth A fresh attempt is to be made by Jeff Mostyn to have the transfer embargo lifted (1). Debts to football creditors and HMRC have now been settled; what remains is described as ‘legacy debt’. I’m not convinced that this a distinction which will cut much […]

While most of the clubs facing financial difficulty are to be found in the lower two levels of the Football League and the two levels of the Conference, the propensity to generate concern spreads out in both directions. In the Premier League the club with most cause for concern currently is Portsmouth. As I noted […]

This last week has not been the best week to choose for some leave, but then when is! Certainly there has been plenty of action off the pitch, and here is a summary of the ‘clubs in flux’. Cardiff City (see postings passim) HMRC have been making winding-up moves which even spinmeister Peter Ridsdale is […]

A couple more cases: A – In Administration Bromsgrove Rovers A club for whom it has all gone wrong since finishing second in the Conference in 1993, and which is the latest club to seek the cloak of Administration, succumbing earlier this month. In 2001 the club survived a winding-up order from HMRC and a […]

Taking the season as beginning on 1 August 2008, HMRC have petitioned courts for winding up orders against the following clubs (dates refer to publication in The London Gazette): 7 August – Merthyr Tydfil 17 September – Margate 8 January – Fisher Athletic 15 January – Northwich Victoria 23 April – Merthyr Tydfil 7 May […]